sutton



No. 6I8,625. Patented Jan. 3|, I899. J. W. SUTTON.

MACHINE FDR PLUCKING PELTS.

(Application filed July 30, 1898.)

4 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

ATTORNEYS WITNESSES Tm: nonms versus co. VHOYO-LITHO, WASHINGTON n. c.

Patented Jan. 3|, I899. J. W. SUTTON.

MACHINE FOR PLUCKING PELTS.

(Application filed July 30, 1898.)

4 Sheets--Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

INVENTO Wm WITNESSES: 7% W ATTOR EYS.

Patented Jan. 3|, I899. J. W. SUTTON. MACHINE FOR PLUOKING PELTS.

(No Model.)

(Application filed July so, 1898.)

4 SheetsSheet 3.

INVENTOH Q%# HTTORIVES.

wmvssses Z6. .1

I No. 6|8,625. Patented Ian. 31, I899.

J. w. SUTTON.

MACHINE FOR PLUCKING PELTS (Application filed July 80, 1898.)

(No Model.)

4 Sheets$heet 4.

WITNESSES ATT N 1 8.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

JOHN IV. SUTTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FOR PLUCKING PELTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,625 dated January 31, 1899. Application filed July 30, 1898. Serial No. 687,372. (No model.)

To aZZ whom itma/y concern:

Be it'known that I, JOHN W. SUTTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Plucking Pelts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in machines for plucking pelts of that class in which the pelt is intermittently moved forward over the edge of a fixed stretcher-bar and subjected at both sides of the same to the action of brushes, after Which the projecting water-hairs are cut off by the joint action of a vertically-reciprocating and a rotary knife on the same. Such a machine is described in the Letters Patent granted heretofore to me, No. 536,742, dated April 2, 1895. In this patent rotary brushes, one located above and the other below the stretcher-bar, are employed and passed over the pelt stretched over the edge of the stretcher-bar, so as to brush back the soft fur and protect the same against the cutting action of the knives. In connection with the lower brush was used a reciprocating guardcomb, to which the required motion was imparted after the lower brush had accomplished its work.

The object of this invention is to simplify the construction of the pelt-plucking machine by usingin place of the rotary brushes rotary reciprocating brushes; and the invention consists of the combination, with a stationary stretcher-bar and with means for intermittently feeding the pelt over the edge of said stretcher-bar, of segmented brushes having guard-combs at their ends, means for'imparting a rotary reciprocating motion to said brushes, and areciprocating and arotary cutting-knife by which the water-hairs are cut off at the proper time.

The invention consists, further, of a certain mechanism by which rotary reciprocating motion and mechanism by which the motion toward and away from the stretcher-bar is imparted to said segmented brushes; and the invention consists, lastly, of certain details of construction which will be fully described hereinafter and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a ing pelts.

plan View of my improved machine for pluck- Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is likewise a vertical longitudinal section on line 2 2, Fig. 1, showing the mechanism for moving the Vertically-reciprocatin g knife in or out of action in a different position from Fig. 2, other parts being omitted for clearness. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sections drawn on a larger scale and showing the position of the segmental brushes and cuttingknives, respectively, immediately before and after the water-hairs are out 01f. Figs. 6 and 7 are detail sections showing, respectively, the positions of the brushes before the next cutting action and preparatory to combing back the soft fur of the pelt on the stretcherbar; and Figs. 8 and 9 are detail vertical longitudinal sections showing two modifications of 111 im roved construction Fi 8 showing a rotary brush in place of the lower rotary reciprocating brush, and Fig. 9 a rotary brush in place of the upper rotary reciprocating brush. I

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the main frame of the machine, and A the driving cam-shaft from which the different motions are imparted to the different parts of the machine. The driving-shaft A is journaled in suitable bearings at the rear part of the frame A and provided with a fixed pulley A and a loose pulley A upon either of which the driving-belt can be shifted by a Q over a tension-roller S, which is supported by means of helical springs S on stationary arms S of the rear end of the main frame A and then over on the edge of the stretcher-bar to the lower drum B. An intermittent motion is imparted to the drums Q. and R by suitable pawl-andratchet mechanisms, so that the apron and pelts are moved by an intermittent or step-by-step motion over the edge of the stretcher-bar in the manner well known in pelt-plucking machines. Above and below the stretcher-bar B are arranged segmental brushes D D, which are applied to short shafts D that turn in bearings of vertically-movable journal-boxes D guided in slots of the main frame A. The shafts D are provided at one side of the main frame A each with a small pulley (1 which pulley is moved bymeans of two straps d, that are fastened at one end to said pulley, one strap going half-way around the pulley and extending to the T-shaped end of the slide-bar D while the otherstrap goes half-way around the pulley in the opposite direction and is attached to the outer end of a bracket-arm D, that is mounted on the T-shaped end of the slide-bar D as shown in Fig. 2. These straps d are applied to a pulley on each shaft D at the outside of the main frame of the machine. The slide-bar D receives reciprocating motion from a cam 61 on the camshaft A at the rear end of the machine, which shaft receives rotary motion from the driving-shaft A by suitable gear-wheel transmission, as shown in Fig. 1. The cam (1 acts on two antifriction-rollers (Z on the slidebar D so as to impart a positive reciprocating motion to the same, so as to move the brushes at the proper time by the pulleys and straps described.

The segmental brushes D D, which are located, respectively, above and below the stretcher-bar B, are formed of quadrants of a circle 6, which are attached to the inner ends of the short shafts D and flanges e, and of strips of wood 6 attached to said flanges. Each strip is provided with tufts of bristles and each brush composed of a number of such strips. To the front edge of each brush-supporting quadrant e is attached a guard-comb 9, between which and the brush a small space is formed. Besides the rotary reciprocating motion imparted to the brushes D D by the reciprocating slide-bar and the straps applied to the pulleys at the ends of the short shafts, a vertically-reciprocating motion is imparted to the brushes at the proper time, so as to be moved toward or away from the stretcher-bar. This motion is imparted to the brushes by means of two sets of toggle-levers jif, one at each side of the machine, and two additional slide-bars F, having T-shaped heads,as shown in Figs. 2, at, and 5. One link of each togglelever f f is pivoted to the journal-boxes of the brushes, while the other link is pivoted to upright standards A on the main frame, the com mon pivots of both toggle-levers ff being connected by additional pivot-links f with the ends of the T-shaped heads of the slidebar, as shown clearly in Figs. at and 5. On each slide-bar is arranged, between a stationary collar f on the same and a bracket f, attached to the side of the main frame A,a strong helical spring F, by which an antifrictionroller f at the rear end of the slide-bar F is held in contact with a cam f on the cam-shaft A The cam is so shaped that at the proper time the slide-bar F is quickly moved back, so as to place the toggle-levers ff at an angle toward each other and move the segmental brushes D D quickly away from the stretcherbar, as shown clearly in Fig. 5. Then the slide-bar F is moved by the cam f in forward direction, the links of the toggle-joint are placed in line with each other, so that the brushes D D are moved toward and into proximity to the stretcher-bar, as shown in Fig. 4;.

In front of the stretcher-bar B are arranged two knives, a vertically-reciprocating knife K and rotating knife K. The vertically-reciprocating knife K is arranged below the edge of the stretcher-bar B. It is attached to elbows K at the front ends of cam-levers K which carry tappets K" at their rear ends, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The tappets are acted upon by cams K on the cam-shaft A The cam-levers K are keyed to a transverse I shaft K, which is supported in boxes of slideplates 0, that are guided by slots on headed screws n on the inner sides of the main frame A, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Thelower ends of the slide-plates 0 are connected by pivotlinks 0 with the angles of elbow-levers 0 the lower ends of which are pivoted to the main frame A, while their upper ends are connected by links 0 to fixed arms 0 ofa shaft o that turns in bracket-bearings of the main frame and is provided at one end with a handlelever 0 When the handle-lever 0, slideplates 0, and the parts connecting the same are in the position shown in Fig. 3, the tappets K of the cam-levers K are out of the path of the cams K and consequently the vertical]y-reciprocating knife K is not operated by the same, but remains stationary in itslowermost position. When the slide-plates o are raised by placing the handle-lever o in the proper position, the tappets at the rear ends of the cam-levers K are placed in the path of the cams K so that the knife K is raised at the proper time, it being permitted to drop when the cams have passed over the tappets, so that the front ends of the camlevers K descend and move thereby the knife K clear of the lower brush D, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The rotary cutting-knife K produces, in connection with the vertically-reciprocating knife K, the cutting off of the water-hairs pro- 3' ectin g from the pelt at the proper time. The rotary cutting-knife K is attached to radial arms K which are keyed to a transverse shaft K that turns in bearings of the main frame A and which receives rotary motion by an intermediate shaft K and suitable bevel-gear transmissions from the cam-shaft A The motion of the segmental brushes over the pelt that is stretched over the edge of the stretcher-bar, and the motion of the reciprocatin g and rotary cutting-knives are illus- IOC trated in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, in which four different positions of these parts are shown. Fig. 4 shows the parts in position immediately before the water-hairs projecting from the edge of the pelt are cutoff. In this position the segmental brushes D D are moved in backward direction over the soft fur at the upper and lower sides of the pelt, the guard-combs being in position on the same, so as to retain the fur in position. cating knife K is close to the edge of the stretcher-bar, while the cutting-knife is approaching thereto for cutting off the waterhairs at the moment when it passes the edge of the vertical knife. As soon as the waterhairs are cut off and the rotary knife is below the edge of the stretcher-bar, as shown in Fig. 5, the quick backward motion of the slide-bar F under the influence of their helical springs moves the journal-boxes of the brushes, and thereby the brushes, quickly away from the stretcher-bar, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to clear the pelt and permit them to be oscillated in forward direction. While the brushes are in this position, away from contact with the soft fur, they are movedinto the position shown in Fig. 6 by the forward motion of theT-shaped end of the outer slide-bar D and the action of the straps d on the pulleys cl. The togglelevers f f are then actuated again to be placed in line with each other by the forward motion of the slide-bar F under the influence of their cams. As thus the brushes D D move toward each other still in outward position, as shown in Fig. 7, the backward movement of the slide-bar D on the outside of the frame moves the other straps d and pulleys n in opposite direction, and brings thereby the brushes back into their former inward posi-- tion, as shown in Fig. 4:. As the lower brush is longer than the upper brush, it acts first on the soft hair on that part of the pelt that has just been placed in front of the edge of the stretcher bar so as to carry it below the stretcher-bar, while when the upper brush reaches the pelt it brushes back the fur on the upper side of the stretcher-bar and holds it in position by means of its comb, while the comb of the lower brush acts inthe same way, allowing the water-hairs to rise through between the teeth of the combs and project in front of the edge of the stretcher-bar, as

shown in Fig. 4. The vertical cutting-knife is then moved up to the edge of the stretcherbar, while the rotary knife meets it and cuts off the water-hairs. The length of the vertical knife is slightly shorter than the distance between the quadrants on the short shafts on which the brushes are supported, so that it can move freely up and down between said quadrants.

Instead of using a segmental rotary recip=- rocating brush at both sides of the stretcherbar the lower segmental brush d may be replaced by a rotary and forwardly and backwardly moving brush D as shown in Fig. 8, said rotary brush being operated bya suitable The vertically-recipromechanism forming no part of the present invention. In Fig. 9 the rotary brush D is shown as arranged above the stretcher-bar in place of the segmental rotary reciprocating brush D. In both of these figures-namely, 8 and 9-the brush D is shown as mounted upon a lever-frame D which is pivoted to a suitably-actuated slide-frame D guided on the frame of the machine, the said lever being suspended in proper position by means of a pivoted link D so that as the said slide-frame reciprocates the brush D will be moved to and from the stretcher-bar B.

The operation of my improved pelt-plucking machine is as follows: The pelts having been stretched and secured to the apron P, the latter is so adjusted that one end is near the stretcher-bar B, after which the machine is started. At each rotation of the cam-shaft the pelt is fed for a short distance by the pawland-ratchet mechanism over the edge of the stretcher-bar, and as one narrow portion or strip of pelt after the other is moved over the edge of the stretcher-bar it is acted upon by the segmental brushes and the cutting-knives. During the motion of the pelt the segmental brushes are moved in backward direction and passed over the pelt quickly, respectively above and below the stretcher-bar, so as to brush down the soft hairs,which are then retained by the guard-combs that are then 10+ cated near the edge of the stretcher-bar. The

stronger water-hairs are not retained by the combs and pass through the teeth of the comb, so as to project from that portion of the pelt which is located at the time on the edge of the stretcher-bar. The cutting-knives are then actuated and cut off the water-hairs. The brushes are then moved quickly away from the pelt while it is in this position and then moved in forward direction, clearing both sides of the pelt, are approached toward each other while in their forward position, and are then returned in backward direction, so as to again brush down the soft hair and prepare the next narrow portion of the pelt that has inthe meantime been moved over the edge of the stretcher-bar for the action of the cutting knives. The action of the cutting-knives is the same as in the machine heretofore patented tome, the vertical knife being raised until its cutting edge is in close proximity to that portion of the pelt which is at that time in front of the edge of the stretcher-bar. When the rotary knife arrives in front of the stretcher-bar, the cutting edges take hold of the stiff water-hairs and shear them off'close to the skin of the pelt without cutting off any of the fur which is retained by the guardcombs. The apron is then actuated and the next adjusted strip of pelt placed over the edge of the stretcher-bar. The vertical knife then recedes from the stretcher-bar, while the rotary knife moves so as to complete its rotary motion. The brushes are then separated and moved into their outward position, then again approached toward each other and returned to their forward position, so as to brush again over the pelt above and below the stretcherbar and present the next set of stiff waterhairs to the action of the cutting-knives, and so on.

By the use of rotary reciprocating brushes at both sides of the pelt in connection with the cutting-knives the construction of my pelt-plucking machine is considerably simplified and rendered more reliable, especially as the carding-brush heretofore supported at the rear of the rotary knife can be entirely dispensed with, while theindependent guardcombs and their actuating mechanisms are also entirely dispensed with. it

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. The combination of a stretcher-bar,

means for intermittently feeding a pelt over the stretcher-bar, a segmental brush near the edge of the stretcher-bar, means for imparting an intermittent rotary reciprocating motion to said brush, means for imparting motion toward and away from the stretcherbar, and means for removing the stiff hairs projecting from the pelt in front of the edge of the stretcher-bar after the brush has operated on the pelt, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a stretcher-bar, means for intermittently feeding a pelt over the stretcher-bar, segmental brushes located respectively above and below near the edge of the stretcher-bar, means for imparting intermittent rotary reciprocating motion to said brushes, means for moving said brushes away from and toward said stretcher-bar, and means for removing the stiff hairs projecting from the pelt in front of the edge of the stretcher-bar after the brushes have operated on the pelt, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a stretcher-bar, means for intermittently feeding a pelt over the stretcher-bar, segmental brushes located above and below the edge of the stretcherbar, a guard-comb at one end of each of said brushes, mechanism for imparting an intermittent rotary reciprocating motion to said brushes, mechanism for imparting a vertically-reciprocating motion to said brushes, so as to move them toward or away from the stretcher-bar, and means for removing the stifi hair projecting from the pelt in front of the edge of the stretcher-bar, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of a stretcher -bar, means for intermittently feeding a pelt over the stretcher-bar, segmental brushes located respectively above and below the edge of the stretcher-bar, shafts attached to said brushes, journal-boxes for said shafts, means for imparting a rotary reciprocating motion to the brushes toggle-levers for raising or lowering said journal-boxes, spring-actuated slide-bars having T-shaped ends connected with said to gle-levers, and a cam-shaft having cams for actuating said slide-bars so as to move the brushes toward or away from the stretcherbar, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a stretcher bar; means for intermittently feeding a pelt over the same, segmental brushes located respectively above and below the edge of the stretcher bar, supporting shafts for said brushes, pulleys on said shafts, straps extending around said pulleys, slide-bars having T-shaped heads, brackets on said heads, said straps being attached at opposite ends to said brackets, and a cam -shaft having cams for actuating said slide-bars and imparting vertical]y-reciprocating motion to the brushes, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of a stretcher -bar, means for intermittently feeding a pelt over the bar, segmental brushes located above and below the edge of the stretcher bar, said brushes being provided with guard-combs at one end, means for imparting intermittently rotary reciprocating motion to said brushes, means for imparting a reciprocating up-anddown motion to said brushes toward and away from said stretcher-bar, a vertical reciprocating cutting knife, and a rotating cutting knife, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN W. SUTTON. 

